MAESTRO ZUBIN MEHTA & THE AUSTRALIAN WORLD ORCHESTRA

A Zubin Mehta concert is a mega-event in the world’s music calendar.

We were an integral part of the marketing and publicity of Maestro Mehta’s New Delhi Concerts produced by Showtime Group. Our areas of operation involved liaising with the core management of Showtime Group, the Australian World Orchestra and the Australian High Commission. We handled the content for print and digital media, running the communication lines between the concert management and cultural centres, schools and diplomatic missions, and handling bulk and VIP seating with the ticketing organisation, BookMyShow.com.

About Zubin Mehta

"In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahms' Four Symphonies and Richard Strauss' tone poems."

Zubin Mehta was born in 1936 in Bombay and received his first musical education under his father’s Mehli Mehta’s guidance who was a noted concert violinist and the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. After a short period of pre-medical studies in Bombay, he left for Vienna in 1954 where he eventually entered the conducting programme under Hans Swarowsky at the Akademie für Musik. Mehta won the Liverpool International Conducting Competition in 1958 and was also a prize-winner of the summer academy at Tanglewood. By 1961 he had already conducted the Vienna, Berlin and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras and has recently celebrated fifty years of musical collaboration with all three ensembles.

Mehta was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1961-1967 and Music Directorship of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra 1962-1978. In 1969 he was appointed Music Adviser to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and was made Music Director of that orchestra in 1977. In 1981 the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra awarded him the title of Music Director for life. Mehta has conducted over 3,000 concerts with this extraordinary ensemble including tours spanning five continents. In 1978 he took over the post as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic commencing a tenure lasting 13 years, the longest in the orchestra’s history. Since 1985, he has been chief conductor of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence.

Mehta made his debut as an opera conductor with Tosca in Montreal in 1963. Since then he has conducted at the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala Milano, and the opera houses of Chicago and Florence as well as at the Salzburg Festival. Between 1998 and 2006 he was Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In October 2006 he opened the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia and was the President of the annual Festival del Mediterrani in Valencia until June 2014 where he conducted the celebrated Ring cycle with the Fura del Baus in coproduction with the Florence opera house. Other Ring cycles were completed at the Chicago Opera and the Bavarian State Opera.

Mehta’s list of awards and honours is extensive and includes the “Nikisch-Ring” bequeathed to him by Karl Böhm. He is an honorary citizen of both Florence and Tel Aviv and was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1997, of the Bavarian State Opera in 2006 and of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Wien in 2007. The title of “Honorary Conduc tor” was bestowed to him by the following orchestras: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (2001), Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (2004), Los Angeles Philharmonic (2006), Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (2006), Staatskapelle Berlin (2014) and Bavarian State Orchestra (2006), with whom he performed in Srinagar, Kashmir in September 2013.

In October 2008, Mehta was honoured by the Japanese Imperial Family with the “Praemium Imperiale”. In March 2011 Mehta received a special distinction, in getting a star on the Hollywood Boulevard. The Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was bestowed to him in July 2012. The Indian Government honoured him in September 2013 with the “Tagore Award for cultural harmony” which a year earlier was awarded to Ravi Shankar.

Mehta continues to support the discovery and furtherance of musical talents all over the world. Together with his brother Zarin he is a co-chairman of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in Bombay where more than 200 children are educated in Western Classical Music. The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv develops young talent in Israel and is closely related to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, as is a new project of teaching young Arab Israelis in the cities of Shwaram and Nazareth with local teachers and members of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

One Beating Heart

“It’s more than just a group of musicians on stage, it’s the bringing together of some of the finest Australian musicians who are playing in some of the world’s greatest orchestras, from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic to the Chicago and London Symphony Orchestra.”

– Alexander Briger, Founder and Artistic Director of the Australian World Orchestra.

About The Australian World Orchestra

“Around the world there aren’t many great orchestras but the Australian World Orchestra is one of them without any doubt. You don’t only have to say it’s a national treasure; it’s an international treasure.”

– Sir Simon Rattle

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is one of the most exciting orchestra initiatives in Australia’s cultural history. The AWO’s purpose is simple: to bring together Australia’s finest orchestral musicians from across the world to perform in Australia and overseas, while encouraging and developing young talent.

The Australian musicians have talent, dedication and passion and are represented in leading world orchestras including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago and London Symphony Orchestra. Our state orchestras have deserved reputations for excellence and perform at the highest standard. The AWO brings together the cream of our national and international musicians, providing them with the unique opportunity to perform together and on home soil.

A Sell-out Success

It was an amazing experience working with Showtime Group for the October 2015 Concerts in New Delhi featuring the Maestro conducting the Australian World Orchestra. One of the highlights of the event were the solo arias performed by Greta Bradman, grand-daughter of the cricketing ‘great’ Sir Donald Bradman. Many eminent musicians were showcased in the concert series, with soloists violinist Daniel Dodds and violist Tobias Lea.

Sardana Creative Consultancy was an integral part of the marketing and publicity of the event. The concerts were, expectedly, a sell-out success on both days at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Auditorium; a tribute both to the immense drawing power of the legendary musician, and the successful and smooth behind-the-scenes management of the event.

The Delhi Concerts

“We have been working with Nikhil Sardana from Sardana Creative Consultancy during the months leading to the Zubin Mehta and Australian World Orchestra Delhi Concerts. Nikhil worked with us as the Head of Marketing and his efforts were a class apart. From content creation for the concert to creating momentum around the event by engaging with embassies and other institutions, and handling the group ticketing and sales pipelines, Nikhil ensured the successful delivery of both days of the sell-out concert. I believe in him and the vision and vigour with which he approaches his work, and recommend others in the music and performing arts spaces to consider him for your future projects.”

– Michael Menezes, Chairman, Showtime Events (India) Pvt Ltd

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